by Beevis, Keri
‘Damn it, Mark. Slow down. You’re going the wrong way. What the hell’s going on?’
He looked at her then and the wide-eyed fear on his face chilled her.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ she whispered.
He started to answer, then snapped back, just as the car bumped against the verge and he fought to stay in control as it skidded across the road.
Lila screamed as the car swung around, flinging her against the door and they came to a halt facing the opposite direction.
There was silence and the thump of her heart pounding. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you,’ she demanded as he slid the car back into gear. ‘But I want out, now!’
She reached for the door handle but wasn’t quick enough as Mark floored the accelerator, heading back towards the bridge.
‘Mark! Stop the car!’
He was driving too fast and as they approached the bridge, he turned again and looked at her, his face pale and sheened with sweat. ‘I can’t. We have to go.’
Lila saw the fear, her stomach dropping as the car flew over the bridge, and caught the glare of oncoming headlights. Close, too close.
She reached for the steering wheel. ‘Mark! Watch out!’
And then the flashback was over and she was in her room, sitting on the bed, her chest tight, her palms damp and her limbs like jelly. She clutched the phone in her hand, needing a moment to pull herself together.
Just what had happened the night of the accident?
* * *
Kate Whitman glanced at her eldest son as she folded laundry, the briefest hint of a smile on her face. ‘So I know you didn’t stop by to check up on me. You and Tom have been taking turns and he was here this morning.’
Jack opened his mouth to protest and she forced the smile up a notch. ‘I’m your mother, Jack. Trust me. I know how you work.’
She said the words with confidence, even though it still cut deep that she hadn’t been able to figure out her youngest daughter. If only Stephanie had talked to her instead of getting behind the wheel whenever she needed to think or to cool off, maybe she would still be here. At times the sadness threatened to pull her under and she had to remind herself that she still had four other children – albeit adult children – who needed her. She would be strong for them.
‘So, tell me. What’s on your mind?’
They had been drinking tea in the kitchen, as Kate kept her hands busy. Henry had always insisted on employing a maid, but Kate had never been afraid of housework and, finding it therapeutic in helping with the grieving process, she had given Maria the week off. Her talented son who usually had no trouble with words was brooding before her, a frown on his handsome face as he tried to figure out a way to say whatever it was he had come here for.
‘I met with Lila Amberson.’
There it was, off with the Band-Aid. Kate remained silent, her expression neutral. She knew the woman had been at Stephanie’s funeral, though only after the event when Giles had conveniently let it slip before urging her not to tell Jack. Kate had no allegiance to Giles though, was fully aware that Alyssa’s boyfriend worked to his own agenda. Still, she didn’t share what she knew, curious to hear what Jack had to say.
‘She showed up at the church and I lost my temper with her. I went to see her to apologise.’
That was Jack; hot-headed at times, but always willing to put things right if he realised he was in the wrong.
Kate wasn’t sure how she would have reacted if she had seen Lila Amberson at the funeral. She was level-headed enough to know the woman wasn’t to blame, that she too had been a victim in the accident, but emotions had been running high, particularly on that day, and it was likely neither her presence nor her condolences would have been welcomed. ‘Why are you telling me this now, Jack?’
‘I wasn’t going to tell you. In fact, I thought it was better you didn’t know. But then Lila gave me this.’ He reached into his pocket, held up a chain. ‘She thinks it was Stephanie’s and accidentally got put with her things at the hospital.’
Kate frowned at the chain, not recognising it. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘It’s got the initial S on it, so it makes sense, and there’s a picture. No-one I recognise, but I thought maybe Henry’s mother? Perhaps he gave it to Steph as a keepsake?’
Jack opened the silver locket and Kate took it from him, studied the picture. Henry’s mother had passed away before Stephanie was born and Jack had never met her, so Kate understood his train of thought. She had known Beatrice Whitman though and she was definitely not the woman in the photograph.
‘I’m sorry, Jack, but that’s not her. This locket definitely isn’t Stephanie’s.’
‘Okay, so the owner is a mystery.’ He looked thoughtful as he took the chain again, slipped it back in his pocket. No doubt that writer mind of his was going into overdrive. ‘I’ll let Lila know it’s not Steph’s and we’ll try to figure it out.’
‘What’s she like?’
‘Lila?’
‘Yes, Lila.’
Jack shrugged nonchalantly as he toyed with his mug, though took time choosing his words. ‘Kind, occasionally misguided, but she means well. And I know she feels guilty about Steph.’
‘It wasn’t her fault.’
‘She knows that.’ Jack glanced up, eyes that same sharp blue as his father’s. ‘But she survived.’
Kate reached over, squeezed his hand, understanding. ‘She did.’
The conversation stayed with Kate after Jack had left and she turned up the radio, needing the company. She hadn’t missed the familiarity with how he spoke about Lila Amberson and wondered if he was even aware of it himself.
Things with Tiffany seemed to have stalled with the pair of them only seeing each other a couple of times a month and Kate knew he had been upset that Tiff hadn’t been there for Stephanie’s service. Their relationship had been running out of steam for quite a while, though neither of them seemed ready to call it a day. Would Lila Amberson’s presence be the death knell?
As Kate loaded the dishwasher, humming along to Lionel Richie, she considered whether to mention Jack’s visit and the locket to Henry, deciding almost immediately it would be a bad idea, as it would invite too many questions. Henry was still angry and bitter about Stephanie’s death, looking for someone to blame. If he found out Lila was in Jack’s life, her husband would likely blow a gasket. Given his already volatile relationship with his eldest stepson, it was best to keep quiet, at least for now.
The song finished and cut to the news. The same old doom and gloom stories dominating the headlines: politics, energy companies hiking their prices, a proposed airline strike and two missing schoolgirls from Lincolnshire. The girls had been missing over a month and although the police were still treating it as a missing persons case, suspicion was being cast on Phoebe Kendall’s uncle, suggesting it could soon become a murder inquiry.
Kate thought of Stephanie again. It had been hard enough losing a child to an accident. How would you cope knowing someone had intentionally taken her life?
She sighed in bitter understanding. Perhaps it was true that there was always someone worse off than you.
* * *
Jack got up from his writing desk, stretched languidly and scrubbed his hands over his face. Two thousand words were better than none, but still they felt forced, the story not flowing naturally. He picked up his mug, drained the last few mouthfuls of coffee, and moved to stand in front of the wide first-floor window that overlooked the harbour, watching a couple of teenagers attempting to paddleboard.
The window was one of the reasons why he had bought the house. The place was too big for one man, but the uninterrupted view of the quayside with its pretty bobbing little boats and the creeks that wound their way through the desolate marshland down to the sand dunes had sucked him in, had him rationalising that the extra space would be great for when he had guests. And he had been right on that front with his extended family soon making themselves at home and
taking over the spare bedrooms for their frequent visits.
He glanced at his watch, saw it was late afternoon, knew he should slug on with the book, but he was restless. He raked his fingers back through his hair, absently thinking that it was getting too long, already touching his collar, and he should go have it cut. He was surprised his mother hadn’t commented as such, but then he guessed she had other things occupying her mind. Stephanie had always liked his hair a little longer though, so fuck it.
He remembered how she had joked about beach hair being apt for her beach bum brother when he had first bought the house two summers earlier.
A pitiful whine came from behind him and he turned to see Cooper, his black and white spaniel, who had been fast asleep on the floor, looking up at him expectantly.
‘You wanna go for a walk?’
Cooper didn’t need to be asked twice, charging off in search of his lead.
Walking down by the creek, Jack’s head was full of memories from that first weekend in the house, with Tom, Steph, Alyssa and Oliver all staying over for a marathon housewarming with barbecues, too much alcohol and games of rounders and volleyball on the beach. When he arrived back at the house, he sat back down at his laptop, closed his manuscript and logged into Facebook. Stephanie’s account was still live though hopefully not for much longer, as the family had requested it be deleted. It had been something they had argued about. Alyssa, Giles and Oliver wanting it made into a memorial, while Jack, along with Tom, their mother and Henry, felt it should be closed.
Jack didn’t give a flying fuck what Giles wanted, couldn’t even believe he thought he was entitled to a say, but he respected the opinions of his younger brother and sister, even if he did disagree with them. Ultimately it was Henry and his mother’s decision and it was strange to for once be in agreement with his stepfather.
They all had memories of Stephanie. Private memories. The last thing Jack wanted to see when he was logging into Facebook was a public social media shrine to his sister.
Still, after he had gone through her photos, found the album with the beach housewarming pictures and saved them to his laptop, he found himself reading through the messages her friends had posted on her wall.
Some of the names he recognised, a few of the messages touched him, though many others were so over the top they had him scowling at the screen. One from a girl called Ruby Howard caught his attention.
Sleep safe, hun. At least that creep can’t get to u anymore. Xxx
Jack reread the post, frowning. He had never heard of Ruby Howard, though a quick browse through her profile told him she had gone to school with Stephanie. He hadn’t been aware of any creeps in Steph’s life. Maybe another student had been picking on her. It seemed unlikely. Stephanie had always been able to handle herself.
She had been withdrawn in the weeks before her death though and something had been bothering her.
Jack remembered the texts, how she had wanted to come and stay. She had needed him and he hadn’t been there.
Impulsively, he typed a message to Ruby Howard.
This is Steph’s brother, Jack. I need to talk to you.
He hit send, logged out of Facebook and switched off his laptop, too fired up to write. The locket was still in his pocket; the one that his mother insisted hadn’t belonged to Stephanie.
He would wait to hear from Ruby and then he would return the locket to Lila.
11
Lila opened the door, surprised, but not disappointed to find Jack standing on the other side. Each time she saw him she figured it would be the last, though the more she got to know him the less she wanted that to be the case.
‘Come in,’ she invited, not even bothering to ask why he was there this time.
‘I have the locket,’ he said, without preamble, following her into the small kitchen. ‘It isn’t Steph’s.’
That stopped Lila, had her turning to face him. ‘It’s not?’
‘I spoke to my mother. She confirmed it wasn’t Stephanie’s.’
‘Okay.’ Lila processed that bit of news, leaning awkwardly on her crutches as she filled the kettle. ‘And she’s sure?’
‘I believe her.’
‘I know.’ Lila had been so certain the locket had belonged to Stephanie. The initial S, the fact it had been with her things. If Jack said it wasn’t hers though she believed him.
He seemed agitated, there was something weighing on his mind. ‘Are you okay?’
She went to touch him, thought better of it, remembering the last time she had tried that.
‘Yes… No. One of Stephanie’s friends posted something on Facebook.’
He looked so worked up she wanted to hug him, tell him everything would be okay, but instead she gave him a smile. ‘I’ll make coffee and you can tell me what’s happened.’
This time she let him carry the cups, too exhausted to argue. She was still shaken from her latest flashback and had barely slept. She would tell Jack about it, but it wasn’t the right time.
Once they were sat down, she sipped at her coffee, wincing as it burnt her mouth. She set it down on the side table, leant back against the cushions on the sofa. ‘So what did Stephanie’s friend say?’ Lila asked.
Instead of answering, Jack got up and paced the living room, rubbing at the nape of his neck in frustration.
‘Jack? What did she say?’ Lila kept her tone calm.
He stopped pacing, turned to face her. ‘She said “at least that creep can’t get to you anymore”. What the hell did she mean by that? Who was she talking about?’
Lila briefly considered the words. ‘Sit down,’ she ordered when he started pacing again. When he ignored her, she spoke more sharply. ‘Jack! Sit down.’ This time she got his attention. When he stared at her, she patted the empty seat beside her. ‘Sit.’
He hesitated briefly before doing as instructed, scrubbing his hands over his face and pushing his hair back, and she could see the lines of frustration around those clear blue eyes. When he brought his hands down, she took hold of them in hers, her grip firm. Although he looked a little surprised, he didn’t attempt to pull away.
‘Okay, so we’ll figure this out. Do you know who she could have been referring to?’
‘No… God, no.’
‘Think, Jack. There was no-one Stephanie had mentioned? Nobody she was going out of her way to avoid?’
He thought for a moment, a scowl on his face. ‘No, there was no-one.’
‘No-one you know about.’
When Jack glared at Lila, her insinuation that his sister may have kept secrets from him hitting harder than intended, the anger in his eyes outweighed only by the hurt, Lila tried to soften her words with a smile. ‘She was a teenage girl. Every teenage girl has secrets. Trust me, I did.’
‘Not Steph.’
‘You said yourself that she had been moody and withdrawn. I know you loved your sister, but it’s possible she didn’t tell you everything.’
He wrestled with that for a moment, still looking annoyed, but this time Lila believed it was because he knew deep down that she was probably right.
‘Okay… let’s, just for a moment, say she did have secrets, what now?’
‘We contact Stephanie’s friend. Ask her what she meant.’
‘I already did. I sent her a Facebook message before I came here.’ Jack pulled his hands free, reached in his pocket for his phone, frowning at the screen. ‘She replied, but when I pressed her on what she meant she said she couldn’t talk about it and then she blocked me. She’s deleted the post on Steph’s page too.’
Lila reached for her own phone. ‘What’s her name?’ she asked, logging into Facebook.
‘Ruby. Ruby Howard.’
Not an unusual name. There would be several of those, Lila figured, and she was right. She showed the list to Jack. ‘Do you recognise which one she is?’
He frowned at the list. ‘Third from top. You have a mutual friend.’
‘We do?’ Lila grabbed her phone back and
glanced at Ruby’s profile. The mutual friend was Joe Mcardle. ‘It’s Natalie’s son.’
When Jack’s eyes narrowed questioningly, she elaborated. ‘My boss, Natalie… remember, the little boy in the yellow raincoat.’
Jack nodded. ‘Can you get him to talk to Ruby? Tell her how important it is she talks to me?’
‘I can try.’ Lila pulled up Joe’s number, and pressed “call”. He answered almost immediately and after exchanging pleasantries, she kept the conversation brief, saying she needed to get hold of Ruby and noticed Joe was a mutual friend, so was wondering if he was able to put them in touch. She was careful to keep Jack’s name out of the conversation, not wanting to spook the girl. Joe promised he would speak with Ruby and would get back to Lila.
‘If she agrees to talk to me then we go see her.’ Lila suggested to Jack after she ended the call. ‘It might be easier to get her to open up face to face.’
‘We?’ Jack stared at her, eyebrows raised, and heat crept up Lila’s neck. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence before he added, ‘You’d do that?’
His surprise bolstered her confidence. ‘Of course. She’s a young girl and might be intimidated if it’s just you. It will help if I’m with you.’
He considered that and Lila thought he was going to protest for a second, but instead he nodded. ‘I guess. Anyway, here.’ Jack reached into his pocket. ‘I didn’t actually come here to unburden on you. I came to give this back.’
Lila held up the locket he passed her, thoughtful as she studied it. Small, simple, plain, probably not expensive, but it must be important to someone.
‘I can’t think who else it could belong to. It’s not mine, not Stephanie’s. It surely wouldn’t have been Mark’s. Someone must be missing it.’
‘Have you thought about contacting the hospital?’
